


The Great Hargreeves

by askmeaboutmyoctopustheory



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Not Related, Eventual Relationships, Multi, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-03-10 02:18:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18929320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory/pseuds/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory
Summary: Coming soon to a town near you! The Great and Mystical Hargreeves Circus! Come one come all to witness the spectacle!Just don't peer behind the curtains....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hiya! welcome to my morbid lil circus AU
> 
> as usual THANKS to the kliego discord for this idea, especially kass you da bomb babiegurl
> 
> find me on twitter @_AMAMOT
> 
> lookin to make this ~4 chapters so get ready for medium simmer burn

Klaus jolted awake as their truck hit another pothole. He had always been a light sleeper, a side effect of being constantly accosted by ghosts, he supposed. They were well on their way to the next town, with all the main acts crammed into a makeshift bunkhouse in the back of an 18-wheeler and the Great Hargreeves himself of course taking the sleeper cabin. A hacking cough from somewhere above Klaus startled him and he heard people climbing down the rope ladder. Life as a travelling circus wasn’t glamorous, but they really couldn't afford for any one of them to get sick. Klaus saw the knife thrower, Diego, fumble down the ladder first, followed by his partner in crime and sword swallower, Eudora. 

 

Diego sat her down on one of the sofas haphazardly clumped into the truck container and went to the water cooler to get her a drink. He returned with a glass of water and a wet rag to wipe Eudora’s sweating brow down. The sword swallower had picked up some virus in the last city, and had been feverish and coughing for the last day and a half. Her coughs had threatened to send her careening off her high bunk, so he had woken her and taken her down to somewhat stable ground. The bunks were stacked four high, barely enough room to sit upright in between. The ground-based acts were given the lowest bunks and the acrobats and trapeeze artists were given the highest with the others filling in the rest. 

 

“She ok?” Diego looked up to see the green eyes of their medium, Klaus, looking worriedly at Eudora.

 

“She’s been off since whatever shithole town we were in last.” Diego cracked his knuckles and neck. “I’ve been telling her to sit out the next show but she won’t listen.”   
  


“She’s worried about your guys’ act.” Klaus said, understanding that their ringmaster could be cruel if his acts didn’t perform. He poured himself a glass from the cooler. 

 

“I guess.” Diego shrugged. “I can swallow if need be…” Klaus choked on his water. “We just would have to skip the knife throwing.” He shrugged defeatedly. “Hitting a target is impressive but it’s more impressive if you hit directly next to a pretty lady but hey that’s showbiz.”

 

Klaus nodded and hummed his agreement. “I know I’m not a pretty lady but I’d let you throw at me. Your knives I mean. I can stand in for her.”   
  
“You trust this crazy hothead?” Eudora murmured for the first time in their conversation, pale and sweaty on the sofa behind them. Klaus nodded at her with a crooked smile. “And don’t kid yourself, you’ll look great in my sequined dress.”

 

\-----

 

When they awoke in the morning, they were in another nondescript small town. Another place in need of a cheap thrill. Another roadside community that wouldn’t look too far into how the circus treated their performers. The first one awake after Klaus was always Ben, the animal master, to feed and tend to his creatures. Despite the humans being kept in pretty shit conditions, the animals lived like kings in their own private trailers. Klaus didn’t blame Ben for spending the night with the liberty horses every now and then. Ben would amble around, talking to his animals in a similar way that Klaus would sometimes talk to the friendlier ghosts around him, making the two men unlikely friends. The trapeeze duo, Five and Seven, would be the next awake as they vaulted down from the top of the truck bunks. The others would rouse themselves slowly and try and be awake and functional by the time Hargreeves would come to survey them with his monocle. 

 

“Ringmaster” They would all murmur and nod at him reverently as he strode past with his cane. 

 

The Great and Mystical Hargreeves was really nothing more than a disillusioned old man who had squandered a fair bit of his fortune acquiring babies of “extraordinary ability” who he raised into the troupe he had today. He did not care for them, other than as a return on his investment. Every now and then the troupe would pick up new members, but the core of them had been there since they had been born.

 

It was a fairly well-constructed routine. The strongman, Luther, would hold up the stakes to the Big Top as Five and Seven flew through the air connecting the ropes to rig the tent upright. The ground acts each had their own tent with their own setup and were left to their own devices. They would all eat around 4 in the afternoon and the idiots from whatever small town they were in would start arriving around 6. 

 

They would stop by Allison, who would grant them a wish but at a great cost. Klaus would try and find their long lost lover amongst the ghosts that were teeming the Earth. They would try their hand at the rigged carnival games and board the less-than-safe rides before entering the Big Top for an evening of spectacle and wonder. The troupe would stay in town for two, maximum three nights before disappearing without a trace.

 

“Are you sure about this?” Eudora rasped through her aching throat. She worried her brow as she watched Diego prep to do the sword swallowing act that was second nature to her by now. Her worry was undermined by a fit of coughs that had her hastily sipping on more of the tea in her hand.

 

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

  
“Won’t get distracted by Klaus in my costume?” She teased, jabbing him lightly with the blunt sword tip.

  
  
“DORA!” Diego yelped. “He’s helping us out, you know it’s not like that.”

  
  
“Sure I do. But I’m sure he’ll appreciate that your throat’s all relaxed if you asked him later tonight, too.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS IS SHORT
> 
> i didn't know where i wanted to go with this, but i have this even though it's short
> 
> next chapter is probably gonna be nsfw so heed the rating change

Usually Klaus could hardly ever conjure the exact spirit that some lonely small-town fool wanted to contact. He usually just spouted some mumbo jumbo so they would leave his tent and the next person would come in. He was off his game this evening even more, he wouldn’t be able to talk to one of the spirits if it smacked him in the face. He was too busy thinking about having to be in front of the audience to assist Diego under the big top. Klaus hadn’t been thinking when he stepped up to cover for Eudora. They were all cogs in one dysfunctional machine, and if one of the acts couldn’t perform then Reginald would punish them all. It was a no-brainer to step in if someone got sick.

 

No, he was gonna have trouble watching Diego in his skin-tight outfit and swallowing a sword. Klaus knew it was dumb to develop a crush on someone raised essentially as his brother, but he also knew none of the others would judge him. They all knew that Five and Seven were more than just trapeze partners, and no doubt there was other gossip under the big top.

 

Their outfits matched, glittery and with red and silver sequins. Diego’s was a short sleeved unitard that gripped around his thighs as he posed dramatically before Klaus stepped out to the cheering crowd. Eudora’s outfit fit him too well, the skirt falling to the middle of his thighs and the multitude of straps holding the tight top in place. Klaus had seen the knife throwing routine many times before, often watching the main events from under the rickety bleachers. He hammed it up in front of the target, pretending to swoon as Diego pulled out his throwing knives.

 

Diego never missed, never hurt Eudora when she was posing in front of his target. It really wasn’t hard for him to do. It looked impressive to throw the knife as close as possible, sometimes even snagging her skirt or hair with his knife, making the audience gasp. He didn’t have as many options with Klaus, so he had to do trick shots from behind his head or blindfolded. It still wasn’t hard not throwing the knife at Klaus, it was hard not getting distracted by the lanky man that looked way too natural in Eudora’s costume.

 

Klaus twisted his hands above his head, Diego’s knife striking right below where his wrists were crossed, making the crowd gasp.

 

He tossed from side to side as knives struck up and down the target right next to his sides, making it look like he was trapped.

 

Diego pulled out his final knife, putting on a show as he looked around for the rest of the knives he already threw. He walked up to the target and ran the blade gently across Klaus’s face, not even in danger of nicking his skin. Not even thinking about the crowd, he raked his eyes over Klaus’s body that was splayed out on his target in between his knives. He quirked an eyebrow when he saw that Klaus’s lips were slightly parted and his face was flushed with what was probably just adrenaline.

 

He spun on his heel and half heartedly tossed his knife over his shoulder, knowing it hit its target when the crowd gasped and then cheered loudly. He gestured to Klaus, where the skirt of his borrowed outfit was pinned to the target between his legs by the recently thrown knife. The crowd went wild as he bowed and grinned at Klaus. The taller man fell gracelessly from the target as he yanked the knife from his skirt and bowed next to Diego.

 

Diego didn’t miss Eudora’s knowing smirk as she sipped her cup of tea from the tent flap.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SO i'm sorry that i did that thing where i start something and have a decent amount of momentum at first but then get 100000 other ideas and get distracted and then come back and try and finish this up but not really be completely satisfied with the ending
> 
> but here's some ~mature~ stuff
> 
> but yeah this'll be in the "might make the ending better in the future" folder

 

Klaus’s hands were shaking as he peeled off Eudora’s costume, knowing that Hazel would have to mend the hole that Diego made when he threw that last knife. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about how close they had been before he threw it. 

 

“He likes you too, just spare us all the pining and get on with it.” Eudora’s voice rasped from the small changing hut under the bleachers of the big top. 

 

“What?” Klaus decided to play dumb. He spouted lies to dumb townies in his tent all night, he was a decent actor.

 

“I’m sick, not dumb.” The small woman sipped her tea while appraising him over the rim of the cup. “Diego likes you. His throat is extraordinarily relaxed right now because he stepped in for me to sword swallow tonight. Good luck.”

 

Klaus was left sputtering in the sparkly briefs that went under the costume as she turned and left. He hastily put on his usual all-black outfit and went back to his own tent. He didn’t mind filling in for acts under the big top, but he liked his own little seance tent. There was the useless ouija board and twinkly purple lights and gauzy tapestries while he perched himself on a pile of silk cushions in the middle. If nothing else, it was a good place to meditate in between the rush of pre and post show visitors. 

 

“K-klaus?” A husky voice came from the opening of his little tent, he looked up and saw Diego standing there. “I uh. Thanks for stepping up tonight.”

 

“It’s no problem.” Klaus replied, he inched closer to Diego, stepping around the stack of cushions. 

 

“I think the crowd liked ‘ya.” Diego stepped farther into the tent, their toes touching.

 

“Nah that was all you. I just stood there.” Klaus licked his lip and they were chest to chest.

 

“Stood there and looked pretty?” Diego had to look up slightly to maintain their eye contact but not before flickering his eyes down to Klaus’s lips.

 

“Something like that.”   
  


And Klaus pressed his lips against Diego’s, closing the last bit of air space between them. Diego pressed back with equal vigor, deepening the kiss immediately and rushing his hands to grip Klaus’s curly hair. The taller man made a startled moan, sending shivers through their lips as he toyed his tongue into Diego’s mouth and his hands swept down his broad shoulders. His hands came to rest on Diego’s ass, perky in his leather pants, and gave it a squeeze. Diego stood up on his tiptoes, pushing back on Klaus until his legs hit the small table with the ouija board. Klaus didn’t stop kissing him, but threw the board onto the ground and hopped up onto the table.

 

“Innt that bad luck?” Diego asked, his voice even more of a growl with arousal. “Won’ it offend spirits?”

 

“If you think spirits communicate through that piece of cardboard then you really are just a pretty face.”

 

“I think I demonstrated enough tonight that I’m  _ not _ just a-you think I’m pretty?

 

“I mean I’d use ruggedly sexy first but yeah you’re pretty” Klaus kissed down his neck, his long fingers tugging at Diego’s tight shirt.

 

Diego blushed and pulled away to strip his shirt off and he sank to his knees in one motion. Klaus wore ridiculously tight pants with laces up the sides that did little to conceal his arousal. Diego nuzzled at the bulge with his nose and mouth, running his hands up and down Klaus’s thighs and feeling his skin through the little cut outs the laces provided. He hooked his calloused fingers over the waistband, and looked up at Klaus with a questioning glance.

 

“You want me to uh-”   
  
“For fucks sake, yes Diego. I watched you swallow a sword earlier you think I haven’t been thinking about it since?”

 

Diego just replied by pulling his ridiculous pants down to his knees and discovering that he wasn’t wearing underwear. He took advantage of his relaxed throat and took Klaus entirely in one bob of his head. Long fingers petted the sides of his head, tracing the scars there as he hummed around Klaus’s cock. He worked his way back up, moving his tongue back and forth until he was suckling the tip.

 

Klaus was whining and moaning above Diego. “I’m not gonna-if you keep that up.” 

 

Diego responded by taking him all the way into his stretched throat and swallowing around him until Klaus was shooting his release into his mouth. He sucked every last drop until he could feel Klaus getting soft in his mouth and he pulled off gently and kissed the thighs on either side of his head. Klaus pulled him up and kissed him hotly again, pushing one of his hands into Diego’s pants. He got the picture and helped by unzipping them as Klaus wrapped his hand around him and started stroking.

 

“Eudora talk to you too?” Klaus asked as he worked up a rhythm.

 

“Please don’t talk about my act partner while your hand is on my dick.”

 

Klaus responded with a twist of his wrist and flicked his thumb over his slit. It only took a few strokes before Diego was coming onto Klaus’s hand and he collapsed forward, grabbing his slender shoulders.

  
“Well. That was-”   
  
“Please tell me this wasn’t just-”   
  
Diego cut him off by kissing him again. “Be my boyfriend?”   
  
“Oh.” Klaus blinked a few times. “Yeah ok.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! kudos and comments feed me and my family plz
> 
> find me on twitter @_AMAMOT i dont' bite


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